Best Places In The World To Retire

The nightlife in El Valle is really slow. People mainly go out for dinner early.  Most places close around 9 pm on week days visit some of the local bars and that it.

 

No casinos, nightclubs or anything crazy 

The nightlife in El Valle is really slow. People mainly go out for dinner early.  Most places close around 9 pm on week days visit some of the local bars and that it.

 

No casinos, nightclubs or anything crazy 

There's quite a bit of misinformation and fear surrounding FATCA, but the bottom line is that it's not a big deal at all (assuming that you are OK with being 100% honest and open when it comes to complying with your U.S. federal income tax responsibilities).

 

If all you do is move your residence overseas, then FATCA will have no effect on you whatsoever.  You could live your whole life overseas and never say or read "FATCA" ever again.  Some...

There's quite a bit of misinformation and fear surrounding FATCA, but the bottom line is that it's not a big deal at all (assuming that you are OK with being 100% honest and open when it comes to complying with your U.S. federal income tax responsibilities).

 

If all you do is move your residence overseas, then FATCA will have no effect on you whatsoever.  You could live your whole life overseas and never say or read "FATCA" ever again.  Some people seem to think that FATCA requires 30% withholding on all international wire transfers or all amounts paid to persons who live overseas, but that is not the case at all.  FATCA withholding only applies in very limited circumstances generally related to U.S. banks and brokers paying interest or dividends to non-U.S. persons.

 

Now, if you also move some assets overseas with you, or otherwise invest in non-U.S. assets (e.g., by forming a non-U.S. corporation, or opening non-U.S. bank accounts), then FATCA will be something you'll need to think about.  However, it still won't negatively affect your life (as long as the assumption in the first sentence of my answer holds true).

 

FATCA is mainly an information-gathering tool for the IRS, and it has two parts.  

 

First, FATCA requires some additional disclosure on your U.S. tax return--this is IRS Form 8938.  So, you'll need to add a few extra pages to your return to tell the IRS about your non-U.S. bank accounts or interests in non-U.S. entities.  No big deal (assuming you have your U.S. tax return prepared by someone knowledgeable in this area).

 

Second, FATCA essentially requires non-U.S. banks and brokers to provide information about their U.S. account holders.  (I say "essentially requires" because FATCA subjects them to a punitive withholding regime if they don't comply.)  So, when you open a non-U.S. financial account, you'll have some extra paperwork to fill out.  Then, if you invest through fancy offshore structures, you'll need to make sure it is structured in a way that makes FATCA compliance easy (you'll need a tax attorney on board).  Again, FATCA should not ultimately have a negative impact on your life.

 

So, no need to worry about FATCA--just enjoy your new life abroad!

 

(Lake Nicaragua  and the island volcano Ometepe, Nicaragua, pictured.)

Under this program you don’t have to stamp your passport every month. In addition, you can bring many items to Belize duty free, including a car as long as it’s less than 3 years old, light aircraft as long as it’s not commercial, a boat, and...

Under this program you don’t have to stamp your passport every month. In addition, you can bring many items to Belize duty free, including a car as long as it’s less than 3 years old, light aircraft as long as it’s not commercial, a boat, and all your household goods and possessions.

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain...

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain rules with which we had to comply, and the quality of our medical systems was one of them. At that moment, there were two or three really famous Portuguese businessmen who invested heavily in medical facilities and systems, so today, and for the past 10 years, we are at the same level as any other civilized European country. So we have very good medical facilities at the moment.  We are on par with France, Great Britain, etc.
 
There was a trend 10 years ago when there was a big boom in the construction of private hospitals.  In the last 10 years, the Social Democratic Party took over, and one of their measures was to develop the public medical system, so they built all these new hospitals and clinics. I come from a middle-high class family and I use the public medical system. I compared the public and private system because I have private medical insurance and I have a public hospital near by and I use both. I didn’t used to go to the public system because of it having bad reputation in the old days. But the other day, I had a problem with my son and I took him to the public hospital and I was impressed because I got better service than at the private hospital. I don’t know if it was a coincidence but the hospital was brand new with a very quick reply. I went in and out in an hour and sometimes that doesn’t happen in hospitals around the world. So I am very, very impressed with our public medical system at the moment.  

 

(View of Hospital São José from Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)